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Rio Olympics 2016: 3 Key Marketing Highlights

August 18, 2016 — by MediaMath    

The 31st Olympiad will draw to a close this weekend. Amidst the triumphs and turmoil, there has been the mainstay of marketing by key sponsors. Here are some of the advertising highlights of the Rio Games.

1. A shift toward digital and social-media marketing

The Wall Street Journal described the presence of major Olympic sponsors at this summer’s Games as “subdued.” Big brand splashes like bus advertisements and billboards have been reduced to smaller logo placements and branded areas. One of the reasons, according to Michael Payne, former director of marketing for the IOC, is that more brands have opted to shift dollars toward online and social media marketing, leading to a less visible marketing presence at the Games themselves. Here are a few examples:

2. Olympic ads that aren’t

An Under Armour ad featuring US Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps with the theme “It’s what you do in the dark that puts you in the light” is the fifth most shared Olympic ad ever. Or is it? The ad was technically released a few months ago (in fact, it won an award at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June) and makes no mention of the Games. The ad is part of Under Armour’s “Rule Yourself” campaign and has been a deft way for the brand to capitalize on the Olympics without breaking the International Olympic Committee’s stringent Rule 40.

3. Pre-Olympics campaigns

Gareth Davies, head of digital and insight at WE, said in a MarketingWeek article that the brands who have seen a lot of engagement have launched marketing campaigns before these Games, namely on social media, to get people’s attention. He pointed to Samsung, Coca-Cola and Bridgestone as prime examples. For Samsung, who has had its praises sung for “The Anthem,” the brand’s executive VP of global marketing for the mobile communications business Younghee Lee said the ad represents a change from its previous marketing focus on technology towards how people’s lives can be changed through technology.

Rio Olympics by the Numbers

  • 11: Worldwide sponsors
  • 37: Competition venues
  • 42: Number of Olympic sports
  • 205: Countries represented
  • 306: Number of events
  • 11,384: Athletes
  • 10 Million: Tweets about the Olympics since the Opening Ceremony
  • $2 Billion: Net advertising expenditure boost to the global market from the Summer Olympics

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